In light of the recent events that transpired in Charlottesville, Virginia earlier this month, City of Glendale Mayor Vartan Gharpetian issued a statement addressing the residents of Glendale on the issue of hate.
“We are a civilized nation of people and reject the politics of division and isolation that fan anger and hate towards any group or individual,” Mayor Gharpetian stated, firmly declaring his and the Glendale City Council’s rejection of all demonstrations of hate.
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution at its August 22 meeting reaffirming the City of Glendale’s commitment to a community free of racism, hatred, and bigotry.
“We should condemn all those things in no uncertain terms, because, indeed, our City should have no room for [hate],” said Council Member Zareh Sinanyan.
In a message to parents, Council Member Paula Devine said, “Please teach your children to love each other [and] to respect each other. We have a very diverse community. We want it to be an inclusive community. We want everyone to treat each other with kindness and respect.”
“I think a resolution like this is a good thing,” she added.
In his statement, Mayor Gharpetian continued by describing the White supremacist ideology as “ethically, morally, and criminally wrong,” and referred to the display of hate in Charlottesville as “disgusting.”
Gharpetian encouraged all Glendale residents to “continue to proudly exercise our fundamental freedoms, including our freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and freedom of conscience against such demonstration of hate.”
His call to action included a declaration of respect and understanding.
“If we choose to disagree, we will do so respectfully without resorting to or threatening violence,” he said. “Let us understand our own history, heritage, culture, and freedoms to express and educate ourselves while supporting the principles of dignity, fairness, and acceptance.”
“These principles,” Gharpetian added, “commit us to a peaceful discourse that allows us to reject racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and inhumanity towards man – past and present.”
On behalf of the entire City Council, Mayor Gharpetian read the following statement:
WHEREAS, on August 12, 2017, during a demonstration in support of white supremacy in Charlottesville, Virginia, nineteen counter-protesters were seriously injured and Heather Heyer, was brutally murdered in a related act of terrorism; and
WHEREAS, HJ Cullen and Berke Bates, two Virginia State Troopers, were also killed in a helicopter crash as they were monitoring the events occurring on the ground; and
WHEREAS, the City of Glendale, California, offers its deepest sympathy, compassion, and solidarity to the families of those injured and killed, to those who stood up for justice that day, and to the City of Charlottesville; and
WHEREAS, the demonstration of white supremacy and hate in Charlottesville is unacceptable; and
WHEREAS, the United States of America, including the City of Glendale, California, is a civilized nation of people and rejects the politics of division and isolation that fan anger and hate toward any group or individual; and
WHEREAS, the City of Glendale strives to be an inclusive community that champions diversity, embraces its immigrant community, respects sexual and gender identity, makes room for all faiths, pursues equity, and rejects hatred, violence, and terrorism; and
WHEREAS, disagreements can occur respectfully without resorting to, or threatening, violence, and without defacing or destroying property;
WHEREAS, the idea that one group or individual is supreme over another is not only wrong — it is ethically, morally and criminally reprehensible; and
NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Council of the City of Glendale that the City shall:
SECTION 1. Stand together to denounce all forms of hate by any group or individual;
SECTION 2. Continue to proudly exercise its fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly, and conscience against such hate; and
SECTION 3. Shall not be intimated by the fear of violence by any group or individual that seeks to empower themselves to dictate over others.